FRIEND(S)
by surely-silly
Summary: Making friends, and keeping them.
1. Chapter 1

so I changed it a bit, and unfortunately FF's formatting doesn't allow for me to start off as cool as I can on AO3.

I also have no idea where I'm going with this. Ideas and stuff are welcome, or if anyone wants to work something out with me.

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Benny almost loses his head to the thing, the bite of steel cutting a line from the curve of his ear to his collar as he twists away with a snarl. Blood coats the shoulder of his jacket, and he swings his blade in a wide arch, working to put some distance between them. A few leaves flutter to the ground, and the vampire figures he's just learned a valuable lesson.

The thing's scrawny, beaten an ugly dark colour all over with who knows what. Benny curls his lip at the scent that rafts over to him, eyeing the matted hair and slivers of blue behind it for what it may do next. It is an unknown. No distinguishing features visible; pale skin doesn't make a vampire, and a challenging hiss reveals human blunt teeth. Decapitation tends to always work out in the end.

Eyeing the close range blade in its hand, Benny doesn't want to doubt his strength but he does. The physically strong and quick want to get in close, not something he really wants to chance; whatever they are, tackling a vampire is short of suicide if you aren't one, or something higher on the food chain, so what gives them the confidence of attacking worries him. Taking a step back, he doesn't realize his six o'clock is unguarded. There's a crack, and raw heat sears into his back.

Benny howls with anger and pain, whipping around, weapon raised.

Fuck, there are **two.**

This is a fight he definitely doesn't want to try and win.

Jerking to the side, he grabs the wrist and arm to the hand that cuts a line into his jacket and bodily tosses the lunging monster into its twin. Wary, he shuffles back, keeping the two in his sight as they roll in a tangle of gangly limbs and back onto their feet, picking themselves up with a disturbing grace.

"C'mon, ya piss ants," he growls.

They advance on Benny, curling into the arches of a circle to corner him on both sides. And, this is just fucking great. The vampire darts his eyes between the two, and snarls at them in warning. He's cornered prey. And they're a team. Twin monsters, working in a pair to take down possibly stronger targets or that's just how they work. He's grasping at straws, unsure how to survive the encounter, when they freeze.

Both of their heads snap to the trees on their left, searching, and then they're drawing back with a loud hiss of," Leviathans." The hairs on the back of Benny's neck prickle, and a loud howl rips through the silence, shattering the stilted muteness of Purgatory. And, then they're gone as quick as they came. It's disorientating and nauseating as everything seems to tilt and ripple for barely a second, but it's enough to jelly his legs, and send pain searing up his knees as he lands on rocks.

It takes a moment, but Benny scrambles up from the ground, bile burning just at the back of his throat, and throws his eyes about. The vampire gives the area one wary glance over, eyes glancing to the trees above his head, before hightailing it.

Fuck if he was gonna stick around.


	2. Chapter 2

**sapphireswimming: **Yeah! this is the one =w=

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The next time Benny sees either of the two again, it's the one with green eyes and it's pilfering through the dead bodies of a dozen or so monsters.

He watches off to the side, hidden behind a tangle of trees. The kid moves between the bodies, poking around in their pockets, and appraising their weapons, and that's when it hits him. All they had wanted was his blade; the green eyed one had been weaponless, save for whatever it had thrown into his back. He twitches at the thought of the searing heat and the burns that had lingered for days. It's not that he'd have given it to them, gotta be able to defend himself and all, but he can concede the point that he has a very nice and durable makeshift weap—

Cold steel pricks into his neck, the tip freezer degrees, and Benny stiffens. A mistake, he'd made a mistake. If they could sense Leviathans before he even could hear their monstrous roars then the two could definitely sense him barely even twenty feet away. He swallows, and the sharp edge nicks the skin of his neck, drawing a small bead of blood along the faint scar that mares it.

"I'll give you my weapon free of charge," he tries, eyes darting to the still figure of the other of the two. Radioactive green stares into his brown. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

The weapon falters, as if confused at the ease of which he'd give up his weapon, and Benny swings it back. The blade definitely sinks into something, that he's sure, but when the smaller blade tumbles from his shoulder and he tips back from the sudden release of his weapon, Benny swears.

He dodges a thrown axe-like weapon, rolling from the minimal cover of the trees, and scrambles upright and ready.

Only, they're gone and he's left standing at the edge of a clearing full of bodies.


	3. Chapter 3

_boo_

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For all of the few times Benny has encountered the two, or whatever, he figures they survive on being sneaky and guerrilla style tactics. Ambushing being their main thing. So, he gives the thought that maybe they wouldn't do so well caught barefooted and in close quarters when unprepared.

It's just his luck that he stumbles upon them fighting tooth and nail under such conditions.

He skulks in the background for what seems an eternity when the green-eyed one is struck down, shielding the blue-eyed one, and explodes close range into green plasm. The monster caught in the small explosion screams, clawing at its melting face, and falls to the ground convulsing in pain.

Grimacing, Benny counts his lucky stars that that hadn't happened to him in their last encounter.

More monsters appear from across the clearing, and Benny jumps into the fight before he really knows what he's doing. Three are already down, which leaves five more, and surprise helps him decapitate one and take another out at the knees. It's messy, and all kinds of flesh and matter splatter them in the frenzy. They bump and stumble into each, the adrenaline tunneling Benny's mind: survive, kill, survive.

He downs the last one with a triumphant snarl, and is turning, a smirk slipping onto his lips and his weapon poised to settle on his shoulder, when a furious green orb knocks his weapon from his hand, and he's bowled over. They both roll in a flurry of punches and ragged nails, growls and snarls, before Benny is pinned, the thing sitting on his chest with another radioactive sphere festering in its hand.

Roiling blue eyes glare down at him, and Benny can't help but liken it to a human teenager. "Why'd you help?" the kid demands, voice raspy with disuse. Benny wonders at that, since there are two of them.

Telepathic? Empaths? Sometimes words just aren't needed between so closely bonded monsters, but it's just not clicking right and nothing fits. At least... not yet.

"You looked like you could'a used a hand."

His answer seems to throw the monster off, who narrows its eyes down at Benny. The vampire doesn't know how long they sit there, but before long the orb dies down and disappears, wisps of green fading into the air. The kid slowly gets off his chest, and moves a few feet away as Benny sits up, rubbing at his chest.

"Thanks."

Benny gives the kid a crooked grin as he gets to his feet. "No problem, kid," he says, eyes darting toward the green goo and missing the flicker of amusement," sorry 'bout your friend though."

He doesn't receive a response.

Brushing at his clothes, Benny spies his blade a bit away and glances at the kid, thing, whatever. He seems docile enough now, when there's nothing to get into a tussle over. With no outward distaste toward him retrieving his weapon, he slinks slowly over to it and plucks it from the ground. He moves back toward the kid after he picks up the blade, hefting it onto his shoulder.

They stare each other down for a moment, but then Benny grins crookedly and holds his hand out.

"Name's Benny, and I think me and you should stick together out here, whaddya think?"

The kid seems to blink at him, and then his hand, and for a moment Benny wonders when exactly the kid landed in Purgatory if he's hesitant about a handshake.

He tenses slightly when an ice cold hand slips into his.

"Danny."


End file.
